Wow. I just re-discovered the symbol encyclopedia at Symbols.com, and it’s breathtaking. It feels like reading a guide to a secret language, and they’ve got some great features that make it easy to browse their site. The two symbols above were the best representations I found for “inspiration”. You can click the images to go to Symbols.com to get their full story.

I had a book of symbols when I was a kid that I kept at my side as I pored over puzzles like Masquerade and Treasure: In Search of the Golden Horse. I never was very good at uncovering the mysteries in those books, but I still look at paintings and logos as messages to be deciphered, secret stories hidden inside of basic lines and shapes.